Four Ways to Make Your Infographic Amazing

These days infographics are everywhere. And if you’re not using them you’re missing out on the publicity they generate through social media traffic, news and blogging sites. The world is hungry for visually interesting content that teaches something new and important. Make sure you’re the one filling the gap!

Here are four ways to make sure the infographic you’re creating is amazing.

1. Get your facts right

A really great infographic is simple to understand but has depth behind it. And by depth I mean some research, some statistics, some facts that have been carefully checked and can be proven if requested. Sure, infographics are there to simplify complicated data and subjects, and rightly so. But there should still be a decent amount of research and data behind those simplified findings. Otherwise, it may come across as a bit phony and that’s the last thing you want your reader to think.

If you’re going to make your infographic really pop, you absolutely must get some raw data in there. 3 out of 4 people… 1 in 7 cats… There were 2.9 million disasters… $19.9 trillion of tax payers money… you get the idea. If you don’t get these facts in it’s going to be a bit of an uphill struggle creating original, stand out graphics to go with the copy. And at the end of the day – it is about the graphics! Without the graphics it’s not and infographic. And without the information, frankly you might as well just copy and paste some clip art from Microsoft office.

2. Get a headline that really makes you want to read more

When thinking about the copy behind your infographic think about a really eye-catching headline, something newsworthy, something that will hit your reader between the eyes. If you’re putting this infographic on Twitter or similar social media sites, you’ve got just a couple of seconds to grab their attention. Anything longer and sorry, your reader is already onto the next tweet or update. Don’t waste a word!

3. One message at a time please

Message? What exactly is your message? Make sure you’re only trying to get one main point across with each infographic, otherwise it will just end up a jumble of facts and figures. Have one main point, then hit that point home with two, three or four really great facts.

4. Blah blah blah overly long copy is boring

Do make sure your copy is cut down to the bare bones. Normally your sentences will begin a little word heavy which is nothing to be worried about. Just cut and delete anything that is not absolutely essential to the message.

So here’s a summary of my four tips for getting the best out of your infographic:

Get your facts straight. If you’re seriously trying to make a splash in the news, don’t get caught red-faced with your facts wrong. It could end up doing more damage than good.

Don’t forget the headline. If you’re going to re-write anything, let it be the headline. Seriously, folks, if the headline doesn’t ‘pop’ then neither will the infographic

Stick to one idea. If you’ve got more than one message you want to get across, it would be better to create a separate infographic for each one.

Cut down the word count. Please, please, please sacrifice your long copy. I promise you, when it comes to social media, peoples attention spans are shorter than a midget doing a limbo dance.

Finally, after all that preparation, if you’re looking for a graphic designer to do your infographics then you’ll want to find someone experienced who knows what they’re talking about.